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This was one of Gaudier-Brzeska’s largest sculptures to date, and was probably carved as a garden ornament. A letter from the sculptor written in September 1913 states that he was to meet Joseph Duveen, the dealer and art collector, in order to discuss making some garden ornaments for him. The subject of a singer was quite a rare one in sculpture. With her right hand the singer grabs her pigtail. Stylised pigtails were popular at this time in the stone carvings of Eric Gill and Jacob Epstein, both colleagues of the artist.

Dated 1913 in Gaudier's list of his works, 9 July 1914, and entitled simply ‘Chanteuse’; it was first exhibited as ‘Singer’. It was first referred to as ‘La Chanteuse Triste’ by Pound in 1916; he wrote of it, 1918, ‘In the Singer we have what may seem an influence from archaic Greek, we have the crossed arms motif...also an elongation possibly ascribable to a temporary admiration of the Gothic.’

Published in:Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, London 1964, I